By Jude Odo ( South East Regional Editor)
In a significant agricultural milestone, Enugu State has been described as the largest producer of cassava in Nigeria, a titan of tuber whose story is woven into the very fabric of its land and people.
The description highlights Enugu State’s crucial role in Nigeria’s agricultural sector particularly in the production of steple crops. Nigeria is the largest producer of cassava in the world.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialization, Enugu State, Hon. Patrick Uburu who disclosed this to MMS Plus Newspaper in an exclusive interview attributed the remarkable achievement to the state government’s mult-faceted agricultural programmes.
He posited that what is happening in the state’s Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Industrialization was not a coincidence, but as a result of deliberate, focused, and well executed strategy.
“Enugu State Government has recognized these agricultural potentials, initiating programmes and partnership to support farmers with improved high yield stem, fertilizer, and training farmers on modern techniques to combat pests and diseases.The goal is to deepen the value drives from it” , he said.
In an effort to mechanize the state’s agricultural sector, Hon Uburu has this to say: “The Enugu State Government in order to maintain our lead in various crop productions, has procured 102 tractors from Denmark, 92 are being awaited, while 800 tractors will be assembled here in Enugu. The assembly plant is nearing completion.
“So, what this means is not only increasing the mechanization program of the state’ s agriculture but also increasing jobs for our teaming youths. This is because the assembly plant will generate in excess of more than 3500 jobs.”
Value chain is another area where the government is aggressively addressing. This is to ensure that the state government takes its pride in the output production of crops.
The Enugu State Government recently flagged off the distributed of 40000 bags of inorganic fertilizers, and several litres of organic fertilizers to registered farmers in the state. Farm inputs like cassava stem, rice, and maize were also distributed to farmers.
Enugu as the nation’s largest producer of cassava, the Commissioner has this to say: “The atmosphere in Enugu is one of the optimism. It is in Enugu that you have the single largest plantation of cassava covering about 450 hectares of land at Ikem Nkwo in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area. Equally, the state has cultivated 1000 hectares of land across three locations in keying into Cassava boost bio- ethanol value chain Development Initiative of the Federal, State, and Local Governments.
“On cassava, we can proudly say, yes, we are the highest producer of cassava in Nigeria with improved stem like TME 419. What the state government did was a deliberate attempt to ensure we increase our production capacity, to make sure that agriculturral revolution takes place “.
Describing the State Farm Estate as a game-changer, Uburu explained that the state has acquired 200 hectares of land in 260 political wards of Enugu State, where 200 farmers would be concentrated. The farm estate is being developed across 260 political wards in Enugu.
As Enugu State basks in it’s new status, the focus for farmers and policymakers alike is firmly fixed on transforming this agricultural bounty into lasting economic prosperity for the people of the state.
